EA Sports has put out a rating update for Madden 26, and Penei Sewell, the offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, has been given a vast increase to a total of 98. The official Madden account even came close to suggesting that gamers should fight hard to get him into the elite 99 Club. But, as usual, the gaming community had a lot of other things to say besides just the rating.
The first thing is that Penei Sewell, who is one of the top young offensive linemen in the NFL, was given a big jump from 97 to 98 OVR in the recent Madden 26 update. EA Sports has even partnered with the community to gather the required arguments for pushing him to the sought-after 99 rating. The players’ reaction was a mix of enthusiasm, discussion of his real-life performance, and the typical Madden player whining about game bugs.
From the very start, the hype was, no question, very real. Many players would not even argue about it. ‘Easiest 99 ever cmon,’ one player commented and another simply said, ‘Only one reason needed: Penei Sewell. I rest my case.’ The adulation for the Lions star was really strong, and even a rival fan from the Vikings said that he is the ‘Best RT itl’ (in the league). It was quite obvious that many of those who based their opinion on his dominance were confident he was already getting that top-notch digital rating.
Nevertheless, the discussions, as expected, opened up. This is the internet, after all. A user with the name Cake Zaddy levelled some heavy criticism, claiming that Sewell should not be a 99 rated player since ‘Micah Parsons and even Kingsley Enagbare roasted him.’ This set off a long discussion and arguments, alongside references to specific games, such as the Thanksgiving Day match, and whether those performances should be counted as holding him back. It got quite intense with some remarks like ‘You named one game he said all year’ etc. It is the classic sports fan energy but it’s all about a video game number this time.
Then, the discussion shifted towards comparing Sewell to other offensive linemen. A reference was made to Philadelphia’s Jordan Mailata, which led to a very brief exchange of views about whether Eagles’ Lane Johnson is the better one, especially in pass protection. Figures were thrown out saying ‘Penei is a much better run blocker and has only allowed 3 sacks past 2 seasons’ while at the same moment there were claims that Lane Johnson had allowed none recently. The depth of the real football analytics that Madden arguments can go to is quite simply incredible. It makes one wonder whether these guys are scouts or just really committed players in franchise mode.
And also, since this is a Madden thread, the wonderful, chaotic off-topic rage about the game itself that was always there could not help but be noticed. Players, while praising Sewell, took the opportunity to air their grievances. One user requested, ‘Fix your fucking game can’t play one franchise game without it saying desync before kickoff you scammers fix the fucking game.’ Another one complained about the game mechanics: ‘WHY DO THEY BREAK A TACKLE EVERYTIME I HIT STICK??? I HAVE X FACTOR BOSA HIT STICKING BACK UP RB’S AND THEYRE BREAKING THE TACKLES’. It is a delightful, messy reminder that even though there are roster updates, the relationship between the community and Madden is… complicated. They care enough to litigate over a single OVR point, but at the same time, they are very frustrated with the product. That is the modern gaming fandom, isn’t it?
In addition to this, a funny and sarcastic response was given suggesting ‘how much did he pay???’ for the rating increase, which alluded to those never-ending conspiracy theories surrounding players and ratings. Another user simply posted a jovial GIF of a dancing Sewell along with the text ‘He’s good and I like how he’s on my team :)’. That’s the pure, unfiltered joy of having a star in your digital roster.
Now, what is the real issue? EA’s use of social media for direct communication with the players is one of the most effective ways to elicit conversation. They successfully brought people to not only discuss Madden 26 but also the whole football world along with ratings. The drive for Sewell to get to 99 shows how much these virtual figures mean to the lot. To them, the number assigned to a player is not simply a number; it is a seal of honor, it is the point of pride for the player and the team fans and, sometimes even the source of contention among the fans. However, simultaneous complaints about franchise mode desync and broken tackles reveal that the players still think that there are important issues being ignored despite the frequent roster updates. Players are excited about new content but, at the same time, platforms like PlayStation and Xbox host communities with their own ongoing debates and backlashes.
